Perhaps go after the artists yourself, instead of expecting them to talk to you. You are getting something from them, not the other way around :P

you see that is where you are wrong. This is a business transaction meaning that there is a back and forth. They get my money, I get their skills in creating a character. and if you have not noticed, I try to interact with my watchers one way or another. or did you want me to sift through the 400+ watchers to figure out which ones are active artists?

Hmm, personally I just go after an artist that has a style I enjoy. But it is as much a back and forth as buying something from a grocery store :P

maybe its a slow time for artists; a lot I've seen are closed for commissions

i've noticed most artists are not taking commissions. another thing is, they also seem to not be taking trades or anything that will cause more work. good luck, wanderer.

Sometimes people simply nuke journals, I know that I do. I do not have tiem to read journals, not just that but I have TONS of journals in my inbox so its so easy to miss one. I will often check out people looking for an artist to hire, but yeah, it can get missed. That or perhaps the people watching you aren't artists?

not to mention its halloween, and thats a bust time for anyone who wants to draw holiday related things such as myself.
My Commission are closed because of a job related issues but yeah... I dunno. sometimes its better to approach the artist, maybe one who style and price range is what you are looking for. In fact on my website i even tell people that despite being closed to contact me. Depending on what someone wants, and how long they are willing to wait I might still be able to do it!
no harm in asking imo, worst you get is a No, sorry, and perhaps a time when you could commission them.

That being said you would probably have better luck in the forums, I am there quite often. Sometimes I am hunting for something to do lol with my main account.
Any ways, this info is probably of no use to you now as I see someone has already made a Gnar for you, however Ifelt like I could throw in my two cents. Just a little insight into how I work as an artist looking for work vs a commissioner looking for an artist.

Good luck

welp, thanks for your input. This journal is a month out of date as I already have gotten a good character design by an artist on another site that opened up soon after I posted this

I do realize that, but I thought perhaps the info could help for the future.